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Inferno

2026-06-15T21:43:58Z

PhasedSpaces: /* Reviews */

{{Infobox Release|
| name=Inferno
| cover=Inferno cover.jpg
| release_date=29 May 2026
| format=Gatefold 2xLP Deluxe 2xLP + Flexi Disc CD Cassette Digital Merch Bundles
| label=Warp Records
| catno=WARP496
| runtime=69:51 70:00 (Continuous Mix)
}}

'''''Inferno''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Boards of Canada]], released on May 29th, 2026, via [[Warp Records]]. It comes thirteen years after their previous album, ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]'', the band's longest gap between albums to date.

__TOC__

{{WIP}}
== Tracks ==
All tracks are written and produced by [[Mike Sandison]].<ref name="discogs">[https://www.discogs.com/master/4239108-Boards-Of-Canada-Inferno "Boards Of Canada – Inferno"] on Discogs</ref>

# "[[Introit]]" – 0:36
# "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" – 5:04
# "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" – 4:44
# "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" – 3:52
# "[[Father And Son]]" – 3:24
# "[[Somewhere Right Now In The Future]]" – 2:26
# "[[Naraka]]" – 5:01
# "[[Acts Of Magic]]" – 1:18
# "[[Memory Death]]" – 2:37
# "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" – 5:20
# "[[Into The Magic Land]]" – 4:35
# "[[Blood In The Labyrinth]]" – 4:55
# "[[Deep Time]]" – 3:18
# "[[All Reason Departs]]" – 6:14
# "[[Arena Americanada]]" – 5:22
# "[[The Process]]" – 3:01
# "[[You Retreat In Time And Space]]" – 5:25
# "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" – 2:39
Bonus flexi disc (Red 2LP vinyl edition only):
# "[[Vol.4 - P. Primers - 177 Giraud's Mirror]]" – 3:24 ''

== Leadup ==

''Main article: [[Road to Inferno]]''

Speculation for the album's release preceded its official announcement by over a decade, with the band and its associates sparsely giving out new information. Activity notably increased in 2025, including the band's Instagram account [[Road_to_Inferno#Instagram_Likes|liking comments related to a new album]], a ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]''-era [[Cosecha-transmisiones.com|website]] [[Road_to_Inferno#Cosecha_Transmisiones|coming online once again]], and [[Road_to_Inferno#New_Merchandise|new merchandise being put on sale]]. For a more detailed look on the band's activities during this period, see the article [[Road to Inferno]].

== Promotional Campaign ==
''Main article: [[2026 Promo Campaign]]''

In early April 2026, multiple fans received unmarked VHS tapes through the mail, with sender addresses related to [[Warp Records|Warp]] and their online storefront [[Bleep.com|Bleep]]. About a week after, posters with imagery reminiscent of the band started appearing in multiple places around the UK and US. For an in-depth look at the days preceding the album's announcement, see the article [[2026 Promo Campaign]].

== Title and Themes ==

As a word, ''Inferno'' references hell and places reminiscent of it. It is the most explicit reference to religion and the occult since their 2002 album ''[[Geogaddi]]'' and 2000 EP ''[[In a Beautiful Place out in the Country (release)|In a Beautiful Place out in the Country]]''. The album's titles also heavily refer to concepts in cosmology and physics.

* An "[[Introit]]" is a song or psalm that is sung or recited at the beginning of a Christian mass.
* "[[Father And Son]]" could reference the Holy Trinity, which consists of the two and The Holy Spirit.
* "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" is a quotation from [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:14&version=NIV verse 1:14] of the Gospel of John.
* "[[Naraka]]" references the realm of hell seen in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
* "[[The Process]]" could refer to the Process Church of the Final Judgement, a new religious movement which briefly existed in the 1960s and 70s. ''The Process'' was the title of their magazine.
* "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" references the hydrogen line, a specific wavelength of radiation emitted by hydrogen as it undergoes a quantum transition. It has been used to investigate the properties of the universe, and search for extraterrestrial life.
* "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" refers to the first three elements of the periodic table and the mythical sea creature.
* "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" refers to the tenth sign of the astrological zodiac, and is the astrological age that follows the Age of Aquarius. The symbol of capricorn is the goat, which is symbolic in christian and pre-christian beliefs.
* "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" could refer to a concept by Julian Barbour of a realm called Platonia, which contains every possible configuration of the universe.

== Trivia ==

* ''[[Inferno]]'' has been assigned the catalog number [https://warp.net/releases/590960-inferno/tracklist WARP496]. This seems to be a deliberate request from the band themselves, as preceding [[Warp]] releases such as Squarepusher's [https://warp.net/releases/576448-kammerkonzert/ Kammerkonzert] and Oneohtrix Point Never's [https://warp.net/releases/552598-tranquilizer/ Tranquilizer] have catalog numbers of 417 and 411, respectively.
** 496 is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_number perfect number] and a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_number hexagonal number].
** 496 also holds significance in gematria (Jewish numerology). Representing Kingdom (Malkhut / מלכות). It should be further noted that 496 is the 31st Triangle number, which holds further significance as 31 is the gematria of the word God (El / אֵל).
* The Continuous Mix version runs for exactly 70 minutes. This seems to be deliberate, as 70 has carried meaning to the band in the past. For example:
** [[Music70]] is the name of [[Mike Sandison|Mike]] and [[Marcus Eoin|Marcus]]'s own label.
** [[Sixtyten]] from [[Music Has the Right to Children|MHTRTC]] reads out as 70.
** [[The Smallest Weird Number]] from [[Geogaddi]] directly refers to 70, which is the smallest [[wikipedia:Weird number|weird number]]. Even though the track runs for 1:17, it cuts out at exactly 1:10, which is 70 seconds.
* On May 27th, 2026, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House White House] posted a promotional video for the Trump administration that featured an audio excerpt from [[Tape 05]]/[[Deep Time]] with a familiar degraded VHS tape aesthetic. They received heavy criticism from fans, with [[Warp Records|Warp]] and [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] condemning the "unauthorised use of their music for political messaging."<ref>[https://ra.co/news/85287 "The White House uses new Boards of Canada track for promo video"], Michael Lawson, Resident Advisor, 2026</ref>
* The font used in the front cover of the album resembles the one used in the title frame of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky?wprov=sfla1 Andrei Tarkovsky]’s 1979 film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_%281979_film%29?wprov=sfla1 ''Stalker''] both in color and design. The main plot of the film revolves around a pilgrimage of a kind walked by the trio of the Stalker, the Writer and the Professor. In the film, the Stalker (who guides tourists through the Zone, which he believes possesses the magical properties of wondermaking and wish fulfilment) plays a role of a mentor and/or a chaperon for the Writer (who has lost any motivation to live and work and who genuinely doesn't believe in the miraculous properties of the Zone yet wants to try making a wish there) and for the Scientist (who believes that the Zone is dangerous and wants to destroy it). The film itself is based on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkady_and_Boris_Strugatsky?wprov=sfla1 Brothers Strugatskys’] book [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic?wprov=sfla1 ''The Roadside Picnic'']. Both the book and the film take place in a post-apocalyptic world, which might be a reference to the previous Boards of Canada album [[Tomorrow's Harvest]]. Furthermore, alike to an album, both the book and the film touch upon the topic of miracles and magic that cannot be fully explained by a conventional scientific knowledge.

== Release Notes ==
All personnel credits adapted from ''[[Inferno]]'s'' liner notes.<ref name="discogs" />

* [[Mike Sandison]] – electronics, synths, tapes, programming, audio evocations, drums, percussion, guitars, bass, string instruments, processes, sound design
* [[Marcus Eoin]] – electronics, synths, tapes, processes, sound design
* [[Boards of Canada]] – recording, artwork, films, photo collage, design
* [https://www.thisismetropolis.com/engineers/matt-colton/ Matt Colton]  – mastering engineer

== See Also ==
* [[Road to Inferno]]
* [[2026 Promo Campaign]]
* [[Inferno listening parties]]
* [[Discography]]
* [[Timeline]]
* [[Statements from Hexagon Sun]]

== External Links ==
=== Press ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! publication !! article
|-
| Asatunews || [https://www.asatunews.co.id/en/boards-canada-announces-new-album Boards of Canada Announces New Album Inferno for May Release]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-inferno-stream-it-now-1236259803/ After a Prolonged Absence, Boards of Canada Fires-Up With ‘Inferno’ - Stream It Now]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-new-album-inferno-1236229593/ Boards of Canada set new album 'inferno']
|-
| Clash Magazine || [https://www.clashmusic.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Consequence Sound || [https://consequence.net/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-new-album/ Boards of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| DJ Mag || [https://djmag.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno Boards Of Canada announce new album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Igloo Magazine || [https://igloomag.com/newswire/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-warp Boards of Canada announce Inferno (Warp) — May 29, 2026]
|-
| MusicRadar || [https://www.musicradar.com/artists/boards-of-canada-dayvan-cowboy-repub “It’s like you are witnessing the fading of your own memories”: How Boards of Canada brewed a serene genre-blurring classic]
|-
| NME || [https://www.nme.com/news/music/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-their-first-album-in-13-years-3941899 Boards Of Canada announce ‘Inferno’ – their first album in 13 years]
|-
| Opus || [https://opus.ing/p/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-titled-inferno Boards of Canada Announce New Album Titled Inferno]
|-
| Pitchfork || [https://pitchfork.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards of Canada Reveal New Album Inferno]
|-
| Resident Advisor || [https://nl.ra.co/news/85026 Boards of Canada confirm new album, Inferno]
|-
| Rockshit Magazine || [https://rockshotmagazine.com/boards-of-canada-announce-long-awaited-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce Long-Awaited New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Stereogum || [https://stereogum.com/2496646/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/news Boards Of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| The Line of Best Fit || [https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/boards-of-canada-reveal-details-of-inferno-first-new-album-in-13-years Boards of Canada reveal details of Inferno, first new album in 13 years]
|-
| The Quietus || [https://thequietus.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Detail New Album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| We Rave You || [https://weraveyou.com/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-2026/ Boards of Canada announce new album ‘Inferno’ after 13-year break]
|}

=== Reviews ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! score !! favorable !! publication !! foreign !! lang !! writer !! link !! paywall !! notes
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Written In Music || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen van der Vring || [https://writteninmusic.com/albumrecensie/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || The Herald || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Barry Didcock || [https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/26119902.indepth-review-boards-canada-inferno-five-star-return/ review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || musicOMH || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Steven Johnson || [https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Europe Says || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || n/a || [https://www.europesays.com/canada/57411/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Uncut || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michael Bonner || [https://bsky.app/profile/uncutmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mmbyeuto722l review] || 🔐 || album of the month
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Clash || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walker-Smart || [https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Sound of Violence || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Franck Narquin || [https://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/album/6413/boards_of_canada_inferno.html review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || File Under Fire || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Matt Young || [https://fileunderfire.com/album-reviews/is-boards-of-canadas-inferno-the-soundtrack-of-the-end-times-we-deserve/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Beats Per Minute || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Todd Deman || [https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || 90%
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Under The Radar || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tobias Furlong || [https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/inferno_boards_of_canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Northern Transmissions || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Erin Macleod || [https://northerntransmissions.com/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Dansende Beren || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Tom Verhavert || [https://www.dansendeberen.be/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-inferno-nostalgische-soundtrack-van-vergeten-herinneringen/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Gos Is In The TV || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2026/06/02/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8,6 || 🟢 || Pitchfork || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Philip Sherburne || [https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔐 || best new music
|-
| 8,5 || 🟢 || Boolin Tunes || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Dobbin T || [https://boolintunes.com/reviews/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Stereo Board || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jack Butler-Terry || [https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/251813/9 review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || RollingStone || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michaelangelo Matos || [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-1235571024/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Paste Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Grant Sharples || [https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/joanna-newsom/may-27-is-now-joanna-newsom-day review] || 🔓 || B
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Scotsman || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Fiona Shepherd || [https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/music/album-reviews-boards-of-canada-inferno-the-coral-radhika-autoleisureland-8636190 review] || 🔐 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Skinny || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Lewis Wade || [https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Mojo || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Andrew Male || [https://www.mojo4music.com/reviews/new-music/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-enigmatic-duo-turn-their-focus-to-the-present/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Exclaim || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Daryl Keating || [https://exclaim.ca/music/rarticle/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Far Out Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tom Phelan || [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Our Culture || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Konstantinos Pappis || [https://ourculturemag.com/2026/05/28/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Manc Union || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Noah Mckie || [https://mancunion.com/2026/06/08/boards-of-canada-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Big Takeover Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || James Broscheid || [https://bigtakeover.com/recordings/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp-records/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Triangle || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tegan Doherty || [https://www.thetriangle.org/article/electronic-duo-boards-of-canada-reemerge-with-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Les Inrocks || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || François Moreau || [https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/inferno-comment-mettre-des-mots-sur-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-697028-05-06-2026/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Is This Music? || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.isthismusic.com/boards-of-canada] review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/achtergronden/boards-of-canada-verkiest-de-schaduw-boven-de-schijnwerpers/ deep dive] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || No More Workhorse || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Killian Laher || [https://nomoreworkhorse.com/2026/06/03/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Echoes And Dust || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Geoff Topley || [https://echoesanddust.com/2026/06/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Igloo Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Kent Williams || [https://igloomag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Treble || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Blyweiss || [https://www.treblezine.com/boards-of-canada-inferno-review/ review] || 🔓 || album of the week
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Anxious Musick Magazine || 🌍 || 🇵🇱 || Karol Mazurek || [https://anxiousmagazine.pl/recenzje/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Chaos Reign || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Romain Le Vern || [https://www.chaosreign.fr/inferno-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-critique-review-avis-une-merveille-crepusculaire/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Nieuwste Hits || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen Seegers || [https://nieuwstehits.nl/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Quietus || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sereptie || [https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || DJ Mag || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Cardew || [https://djmag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Wall Street Journal || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Mark Richardson || [https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/inferno-by-boards-of-canada-review-bleak-and-beautiful-167e6e07 review] || 🔐 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Resident Advisor || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sasha Geffen || [https://de.ra.co/reviews/36354 review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Attack Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Douglas || [https://www.attackmagazine.com/features/columns/what-happened-at-boards-of-canadas-inferno-tokyo-listening-session/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Juno Daily || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Charlie Wright || [https://www.juno.co.uk/junodaily/2026/05/23/boards-of-canadas-inferno-album-first-listen-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/albums/inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || taz.on weekend || 🌍 || 🇩🇪 || Julian Weber || [https://taz.de/!6177981/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Pop Corporation || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || ? || [https://thepopcorps.co.uk/2026/05/25/review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Sustratro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Miguel Pardo || [https://www.sustrato.io/textos/mantras-para-un-mundo-en-llamas-reflexiones-en-torno-a-inferno-de-boards-of-canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Dagens Nyheter || 🌍 || 🇸🇪 || Mattias Dahlström || [https://www.dn.se/kultur/boards-of-canadas-comeback-var-vard-all-vantan/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟡 || Loud And Quiet || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walton || [https://loudandquiet.substack.com/p/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6,6 || 🟡 || Magic || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Wilfried Paris || [https://www.magicrpm.com/inferno-de-boards-of-canada-enfer-et-damna-son/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Slant Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jackson Diianni || [https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || The Needle Drop || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Anthony Fantano || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WFptvdd1Dw review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || NRC || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jonasz Dekkers || [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-is-eindelijk-terug-bleachers-gooit-alle-registers-open-en-jan-vriend-heeft-een-nieuwe-voltreffer-a4928823?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=clipboard&utm_campaign=share&utm_term=share-modal&gift_token=49288233~1780762052~t53zRDOtRtCzEct0DTNzGw~ne8S1d9iDEQYNOwTgGgpXKP3-Or7TcOCOSqq5FV6Ihs review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Mondo Sonoro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Lluís S. Ceprián || [https://www.mondosonoro.com/criticas/discos-musica/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || Financial Times || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ludovic Hunter-Tilney || [https://www.ft.com/content/af214775-519b-4c94-8db7-6b5207cc70bd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 review] || 🔐 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Guardian || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Beaumont-Thomas || [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/23/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-after-13-years-away-their-prodigal-return-is-a-big-disappointment review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Arts Desk || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ibi Keita || [https://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/boards-canada-channel-dante-inferno-seem-even-more-lost review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|}

=== Shops ===
* [https://bleep.com/boards-of-canada-inferno Bleep]
* [https://www.hhv.de/en/records/item/boards-of-canada-inferno-1392710 HHV]
* [https://www.crashrecords.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno-pre-order Crash Records]
* [https://www.jumborecords.co.uk/music-single.asp?product_id=WARPCD496 Jumbo Records]
* [https://www.normanrecords.com/records/215515-boards-of-canada-inferno Norman Records]
* [https://www.roughtrade.com/product/boards-of-canada/inferno-4 Rough Trade]
* [https://thevaultcollectiveltd.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno The Vault Collective ltd]

=== Various ===
* [https://cutt.ly/inferno-survey-results bocpages: Inferno Survey Results]
* [https://forum.keyosc.com/topic/1980-inferno-may-29-2026/ Keyosc discussion: "Inferno" May 29 2026]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15631 Twoism discussion: General New Release Speculation Topic Part II]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16008 Twoism discussion: LP5 - Inferno]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16027 Twoism discussion: Inferno Sessions]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16126 Twoism discussion: Inferno Reviews]

== References ==
<references />

== Artwork ==
The listing below is generated dynamically, based on: [[:Category: Inferno artwork]].

<DynamicPageList>
category = Inferno artwork
namespace=file
ordermethod = created
imagewidth=104
galleryshowfilesize=yes
galleryshowfilename=yes
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</DynamicPageList>

{{Nav-Releases}}

[[Category: Inferno]]

Inferno

2026-06-15T21:42:57Z

PhasedSpaces: /* Reviews */

{{Infobox Release|
| name=Inferno
| cover=Inferno cover.jpg
| release_date=29 May 2026
| format=Gatefold 2xLP Deluxe 2xLP + Flexi Disc CD Cassette Digital Merch Bundles
| label=Warp Records
| catno=WARP496
| runtime=69:51 70:00 (Continuous Mix)
}}

'''''Inferno''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Boards of Canada]], released on May 29th, 2026, via [[Warp Records]]. It comes thirteen years after their previous album, ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]'', the band's longest gap between albums to date.

__TOC__

{{WIP}}
== Tracks ==
All tracks are written and produced by [[Mike Sandison]].<ref name="discogs">[https://www.discogs.com/master/4239108-Boards-Of-Canada-Inferno "Boards Of Canada – Inferno"] on Discogs</ref>

# "[[Introit]]" – 0:36
# "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" – 5:04
# "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" – 4:44
# "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" – 3:52
# "[[Father And Son]]" – 3:24
# "[[Somewhere Right Now In The Future]]" – 2:26
# "[[Naraka]]" – 5:01
# "[[Acts Of Magic]]" – 1:18
# "[[Memory Death]]" – 2:37
# "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" – 5:20
# "[[Into The Magic Land]]" – 4:35
# "[[Blood In The Labyrinth]]" – 4:55
# "[[Deep Time]]" – 3:18
# "[[All Reason Departs]]" – 6:14
# "[[Arena Americanada]]" – 5:22
# "[[The Process]]" – 3:01
# "[[You Retreat In Time And Space]]" – 5:25
# "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" – 2:39
Bonus flexi disc (Red 2LP vinyl edition only):
# "[[Vol.4 - P. Primers - 177 Giraud's Mirror]]" – 3:24 ''

== Leadup ==

''Main article: [[Road to Inferno]]''

Speculation for the album's release preceded its official announcement by over a decade, with the band and its associates sparsely giving out new information. Activity notably increased in 2025, including the band's Instagram account [[Road_to_Inferno#Instagram_Likes|liking comments related to a new album]], a ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]''-era [[Cosecha-transmisiones.com|website]] [[Road_to_Inferno#Cosecha_Transmisiones|coming online once again]], and [[Road_to_Inferno#New_Merchandise|new merchandise being put on sale]]. For a more detailed look on the band's activities during this period, see the article [[Road to Inferno]].

== Promotional Campaign ==
''Main article: [[2026 Promo Campaign]]''

In early April 2026, multiple fans received unmarked VHS tapes through the mail, with sender addresses related to [[Warp Records|Warp]] and their online storefront [[Bleep.com|Bleep]]. About a week after, posters with imagery reminiscent of the band started appearing in multiple places around the UK and US. For an in-depth look at the days preceding the album's announcement, see the article [[2026 Promo Campaign]].

== Title and Themes ==

As a word, ''Inferno'' references hell and places reminiscent of it. It is the most explicit reference to religion and the occult since their 2002 album ''[[Geogaddi]]'' and 2000 EP ''[[In a Beautiful Place out in the Country (release)|In a Beautiful Place out in the Country]]''. The album's titles also heavily refer to concepts in cosmology and physics.

* An "[[Introit]]" is a song or psalm that is sung or recited at the beginning of a Christian mass.
* "[[Father And Son]]" could reference the Holy Trinity, which consists of the two and The Holy Spirit.
* "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" is a quotation from [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:14&version=NIV verse 1:14] of the Gospel of John.
* "[[Naraka]]" references the realm of hell seen in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
* "[[The Process]]" could refer to the Process Church of the Final Judgement, a new religious movement which briefly existed in the 1960s and 70s. ''The Process'' was the title of their magazine.
* "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" references the hydrogen line, a specific wavelength of radiation emitted by hydrogen as it undergoes a quantum transition. It has been used to investigate the properties of the universe, and search for extraterrestrial life.
* "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" refers to the first three elements of the periodic table and the mythical sea creature.
* "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" refers to the tenth sign of the astrological zodiac, and is the astrological age that follows the Age of Aquarius. The symbol of capricorn is the goat, which is symbolic in christian and pre-christian beliefs.
* "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" could refer to a concept by Julian Barbour of a realm called Platonia, which contains every possible configuration of the universe.

== Trivia ==

* ''[[Inferno]]'' has been assigned the catalog number [https://warp.net/releases/590960-inferno/tracklist WARP496]. This seems to be a deliberate request from the band themselves, as preceding [[Warp]] releases such as Squarepusher's [https://warp.net/releases/576448-kammerkonzert/ Kammerkonzert] and Oneohtrix Point Never's [https://warp.net/releases/552598-tranquilizer/ Tranquilizer] have catalog numbers of 417 and 411, respectively.
** 496 is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_number perfect number] and a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_number hexagonal number].
** 496 also holds significance in gematria (Jewish numerology). Representing Kingdom (Malkhut / מלכות). It should be further noted that 496 is the 31st Triangle number, which holds further significance as 31 is the gematria of the word God (El / אֵל).
* The Continuous Mix version runs for exactly 70 minutes. This seems to be deliberate, as 70 has carried meaning to the band in the past. For example:
** [[Music70]] is the name of [[Mike Sandison|Mike]] and [[Marcus Eoin|Marcus]]'s own label.
** [[Sixtyten]] from [[Music Has the Right to Children|MHTRTC]] reads out as 70.
** [[The Smallest Weird Number]] from [[Geogaddi]] directly refers to 70, which is the smallest [[wikipedia:Weird number|weird number]]. Even though the track runs for 1:17, it cuts out at exactly 1:10, which is 70 seconds.
* On May 27th, 2026, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House White House] posted a promotional video for the Trump administration that featured an audio excerpt from [[Tape 05]]/[[Deep Time]] with a familiar degraded VHS tape aesthetic. They received heavy criticism from fans, with [[Warp Records|Warp]] and [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] condemning the "unauthorised use of their music for political messaging."<ref>[https://ra.co/news/85287 "The White House uses new Boards of Canada track for promo video"], Michael Lawson, Resident Advisor, 2026</ref>
* The font used in the front cover of the album resembles the one used in the title frame of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky?wprov=sfla1 Andrei Tarkovsky]’s 1979 film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_%281979_film%29?wprov=sfla1 ''Stalker''] both in color and design. The main plot of the film revolves around a pilgrimage of a kind walked by the trio of the Stalker, the Writer and the Professor. In the film, the Stalker (who guides tourists through the Zone, which he believes possesses the magical properties of wondermaking and wish fulfilment) plays a role of a mentor and/or a chaperon for the Writer (who has lost any motivation to live and work and who genuinely doesn't believe in the miraculous properties of the Zone yet wants to try making a wish there) and for the Scientist (who believes that the Zone is dangerous and wants to destroy it). The film itself is based on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkady_and_Boris_Strugatsky?wprov=sfla1 Brothers Strugatskys’] book [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic?wprov=sfla1 ''The Roadside Picnic'']. Both the book and the film take place in a post-apocalyptic world, which might be a reference to the previous Boards of Canada album [[Tomorrow's Harvest]]. Furthermore, alike to an album, both the book and the film touch upon the topic of miracles and magic that cannot be fully explained by a conventional scientific knowledge.

== Release Notes ==
All personnel credits adapted from ''[[Inferno]]'s'' liner notes.<ref name="discogs" />

* [[Mike Sandison]] – electronics, synths, tapes, programming, audio evocations, drums, percussion, guitars, bass, string instruments, processes, sound design
* [[Marcus Eoin]] – electronics, synths, tapes, processes, sound design
* [[Boards of Canada]] – recording, artwork, films, photo collage, design
* [https://www.thisismetropolis.com/engineers/matt-colton/ Matt Colton]  – mastering engineer

== See Also ==
* [[Road to Inferno]]
* [[2026 Promo Campaign]]
* [[Inferno listening parties]]
* [[Discography]]
* [[Timeline]]
* [[Statements from Hexagon Sun]]

== External Links ==
=== Press ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! publication !! article
|-
| Asatunews || [https://www.asatunews.co.id/en/boards-canada-announces-new-album Boards of Canada Announces New Album Inferno for May Release]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-inferno-stream-it-now-1236259803/ After a Prolonged Absence, Boards of Canada Fires-Up With ‘Inferno’ - Stream It Now]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-new-album-inferno-1236229593/ Boards of Canada set new album 'inferno']
|-
| Clash Magazine || [https://www.clashmusic.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Consequence Sound || [https://consequence.net/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-new-album/ Boards of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| DJ Mag || [https://djmag.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno Boards Of Canada announce new album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Igloo Magazine || [https://igloomag.com/newswire/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-warp Boards of Canada announce Inferno (Warp) — May 29, 2026]
|-
| MusicRadar || [https://www.musicradar.com/artists/boards-of-canada-dayvan-cowboy-repub “It’s like you are witnessing the fading of your own memories”: How Boards of Canada brewed a serene genre-blurring classic]
|-
| NME || [https://www.nme.com/news/music/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-their-first-album-in-13-years-3941899 Boards Of Canada announce ‘Inferno’ – their first album in 13 years]
|-
| Opus || [https://opus.ing/p/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-titled-inferno Boards of Canada Announce New Album Titled Inferno]
|-
| Pitchfork || [https://pitchfork.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards of Canada Reveal New Album Inferno]
|-
| Resident Advisor || [https://nl.ra.co/news/85026 Boards of Canada confirm new album, Inferno]
|-
| Rockshit Magazine || [https://rockshotmagazine.com/boards-of-canada-announce-long-awaited-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce Long-Awaited New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Stereogum || [https://stereogum.com/2496646/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/news Boards Of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| The Line of Best Fit || [https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/boards-of-canada-reveal-details-of-inferno-first-new-album-in-13-years Boards of Canada reveal details of Inferno, first new album in 13 years]
|-
| The Quietus || [https://thequietus.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Detail New Album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| We Rave You || [https://weraveyou.com/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-2026/ Boards of Canada announce new album ‘Inferno’ after 13-year break]
|}

=== Reviews ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! score !! favorable !! publication !! foreign !! lang !! writer !! link !! paywall !! notes
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Written In Music || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen van der Vring || [https://writteninmusic.com/albumrecensie/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || The Herald || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Barry Didcock || [https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/26119902.indepth-review-boards-canada-inferno-five-star-return/ review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || musicOMH || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Steven Johnson || [https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Europe Says || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || n/a || [https://www.europesays.com/canada/57411/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Uncut || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michael Bonner || [https://bsky.app/profile/uncutmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mmbyeuto722l review] || 🔐 || album of the month
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Clash || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walker-Smart || [https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Sound of Violence || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Franck Narquin || [https://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/album/6413/boards_of_canada_inferno.html review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || File Under Fire || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Matt Young || [https://fileunderfire.com/album-reviews/is-boards-of-canadas-inferno-the-soundtrack-of-the-end-times-we-deserve/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Beats Per Minute || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Todd Deman || [https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || 90%
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Under The Radar || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tobias Furlong || [https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/inferno_boards_of_canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Northern Transmissions || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Erin Macleod || [https://northerntransmissions.com/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Dansende Beren || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Tom Verhavert || [https://www.dansendeberen.be/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-inferno-nostalgische-soundtrack-van-vergeten-herinneringen/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Gos Is In The TV || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2026/06/02/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8,6 || 🟢 || Pitchfork || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Philip Sherburne || [https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔐 || best new music
|-
| 8,5 || 🟢 || Boolin Tunes || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Dobbin T || [https://boolintunes.com/reviews/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Stereo Board || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jack Butler-Terry || [https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/251813/9 review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || RollingStone || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michaelangelo Matos || [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-1235571024/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Paste Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Grant Sharples || [https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/joanna-newsom/may-27-is-now-joanna-newsom-day review] || 🔓 || B
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Scotsman || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Fiona Shepherd || [https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/music/album-reviews-boards-of-canada-inferno-the-coral-radhika-autoleisureland-8636190 review] || 🔐 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Skinny || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Lewis Wade || [https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Mojo || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Andrew Male || [https://www.mojo4music.com/reviews/new-music/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-enigmatic-duo-turn-their-focus-to-the-present/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Exclaim || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Daryl Keating || [https://exclaim.ca/music/rarticle/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Far Out Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tom Phelan || [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Our Culture || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Konstantinos Pappis || [https://ourculturemag.com/2026/05/28/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Manc Union || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Noah Mckie || [https://mancunion.com/2026/06/08/boards-of-canada-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Big Takeover Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || James Broscheid || [https://bigtakeover.com/recordings/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp-records/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Triangle || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tegan Doherty || [https://www.thetriangle.org/article/electronic-duo-boards-of-canada-reemerge-with-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Les Inrocks || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || François Moreau || [https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/inferno-comment-mettre-des-mots-sur-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-697028-05-06-2026/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Is This Music? || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.isthismusic.com/boards-of-canada] review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/achtergronden/boards-of-canada-verkiest-de-schaduw-boven-de-schijnwerpers/ deep dive] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || No More Workhorse || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Killian Laher || [https://nomoreworkhorse.com/2026/06/03/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Echoes And Dust || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Geoff Topley || [https://echoesanddust.com/2026/06/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Igloo Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Kent Williams || [https://igloomag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Treble || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Blyweiss || [https://www.treblezine.com/boards-of-canada-inferno-review/ review] || 🔓 || album of the week
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Anxious Musick Magazine || 🌍 || 🇵🇱 || Karol Mazurek || [https://anxiousmagazine.pl/recenzje/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Chaos Reign || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Romain Le Vern || [https://www.chaosreign.fr/inferno-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-critique-review-avis-une-merveille-crepusculaire/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Nieuwste Hits || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen Seegers || [https://nieuwstehits.nl/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Quietus || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sereptie || [https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || DJ Mag || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Cardew || [https://djmag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Wall Street Journal || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Mark Richardson || [https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/inferno-by-boards-of-canada-review-bleak-and-beautiful-167e6e07 review] || 🔐 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Resident Advisor || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sasha Geffen || [https://de.ra.co/reviews/36354 review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Attack Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Douglas || [https://www.attackmagazine.com/features/columns/what-happened-at-boards-of-canadas-inferno-tokyo-listening-session/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Juno Daily || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Charlie Wright || [https://www.juno.co.uk/junodaily/2026/05/23/boards-of-canadas-inferno-album-first-listen-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/albums/inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || taz.on weekend || 🌍 || 🇩🇪 || Julian Weber || [https://taz.de/!6177981/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Pop Corporation || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || ? || [https://thepopcorps.co.uk/2026/05/25/review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Sustratro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Miguel Pardo || [https://www.sustrato.io/textos/mantras-para-un-mundo-en-llamas-reflexiones-en-torno-a-inferno-de-boards-of-canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Dagens Nyheter || 🌍 || 🇸🇪 || Mattias Dahlström || [https://www.dn.se/kultur/boards-of-canadas-comeback-var-vard-all-vantan/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟡 || Loud And Quiet || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walton || [https://loudandquiet.substack.com/p/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6,6 || 🟡 || Magic || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Wilfried Paris || [https://www.magicrpm.com/inferno-de-boards-of-canada-enfer-et-damna-son/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Slant Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jackson Diianni || [https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || The Needle Drop || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Anthony Fantano || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WFptvdd1Dw review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || NRC || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jonasz Dekkers || [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-is-eindelijk-terug-bleachers-gooit-alle-registers-open-en-jan-vriend-heeft-een-nieuwe-voltreffer-a4928823?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=clipboard&utm_campaign=share&utm_term=share-modal&gift_token=49288233~1780762052~t53zRDOtRtCzEct0DTNzGw~ne8S1d9iDEQYNOwTgGgpXKP3-Or7TcOCOSqq5FV6Ihs review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Mondo Sonoro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Lluís S. Ceprián || [https://www.mondosonoro.com/criticas/discos-musica/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || Financial Times || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ludovic Hunter-Tilney || [https://www.ft.com/content/af214775-519b-4c94-8db7-6b5207cc70bd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 review] || 🔐 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Guardian || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Beaumont-Thomas || [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/23/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-after-13-years-away-their-prodigal-return-is-a-big-disappointment review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Arts Desk || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ibi Keita || [https://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/boards-canada-channel-dante-inferno-seem-even-more-lost review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|}

=== Shops ===
* [https://bleep.com/boards-of-canada-inferno Bleep]
* [https://www.hhv.de/en/records/item/boards-of-canada-inferno-1392710 HHV]
* [https://www.crashrecords.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno-pre-order Crash Records]
* [https://www.jumborecords.co.uk/music-single.asp?product_id=WARPCD496 Jumbo Records]
* [https://www.normanrecords.com/records/215515-boards-of-canada-inferno Norman Records]
* [https://www.roughtrade.com/product/boards-of-canada/inferno-4 Rough Trade]
* [https://thevaultcollectiveltd.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno The Vault Collective ltd]

=== Various ===
* [https://cutt.ly/inferno-survey-results bocpages: Inferno Survey Results]
* [https://forum.keyosc.com/topic/1980-inferno-may-29-2026/ Keyosc discussion: "Inferno" May 29 2026]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15631 Twoism discussion: General New Release Speculation Topic Part II]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16008 Twoism discussion: LP5 - Inferno]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16027 Twoism discussion: Inferno Sessions]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16126 Twoism discussion: Inferno Reviews]

== References ==
<references />

== Artwork ==
The listing below is generated dynamically, based on: [[:Category: Inferno artwork]].

<DynamicPageList>
category = Inferno artwork
namespace=file
ordermethod = created
imagewidth=104
galleryshowfilesize=yes
galleryshowfilename=yes
imagesperrow=6
mode=gallery
</DynamicPageList>

{{Nav-Releases}}

[[Category: Inferno]]

Inferno

2026-06-15T21:41:47Z

PhasedSpaces: /* Reviews */ Added Big Takeover Magazine review

{{Infobox Release|
| name=Inferno
| cover=Inferno cover.jpg
| release_date=29 May 2026
| format=Gatefold 2xLP Deluxe 2xLP + Flexi Disc CD Cassette Digital Merch Bundles
| label=Warp Records
| catno=WARP496
| runtime=69:51 70:00 (Continuous Mix)
}}

'''''Inferno''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Boards of Canada]], released on May 29th, 2026, via [[Warp Records]]. It comes thirteen years after their previous album, ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]'', the band's longest gap between albums to date.

__TOC__

{{WIP}}
== Tracks ==
All tracks are written and produced by [[Mike Sandison]].<ref name="discogs">[https://www.discogs.com/master/4239108-Boards-Of-Canada-Inferno "Boards Of Canada – Inferno"] on Discogs</ref>

# "[[Introit]]" – 0:36
# "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" – 5:04
# "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" – 4:44
# "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" – 3:52
# "[[Father And Son]]" – 3:24
# "[[Somewhere Right Now In The Future]]" – 2:26
# "[[Naraka]]" – 5:01
# "[[Acts Of Magic]]" – 1:18
# "[[Memory Death]]" – 2:37
# "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" – 5:20
# "[[Into The Magic Land]]" – 4:35
# "[[Blood In The Labyrinth]]" – 4:55
# "[[Deep Time]]" – 3:18
# "[[All Reason Departs]]" – 6:14
# "[[Arena Americanada]]" – 5:22
# "[[The Process]]" – 3:01
# "[[You Retreat In Time And Space]]" – 5:25
# "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" – 2:39
Bonus flexi disc (Red 2LP vinyl edition only):
# "[[Vol.4 - P. Primers - 177 Giraud's Mirror]]" – 3:24 ''

== Leadup ==

''Main article: [[Road to Inferno]]''

Speculation for the album's release preceded its official announcement by over a decade, with the band and its associates sparsely giving out new information. Activity notably increased in 2025, including the band's Instagram account [[Road_to_Inferno#Instagram_Likes|liking comments related to a new album]], a ''[[Tomorrow's Harvest]]''-era [[Cosecha-transmisiones.com|website]] [[Road_to_Inferno#Cosecha_Transmisiones|coming online once again]], and [[Road_to_Inferno#New_Merchandise|new merchandise being put on sale]]. For a more detailed look on the band's activities during this period, see the article [[Road to Inferno]].

== Promotional Campaign ==
''Main article: [[2026 Promo Campaign]]''

In early April 2026, multiple fans received unmarked VHS tapes through the mail, with sender addresses related to [[Warp Records|Warp]] and their online storefront [[Bleep.com|Bleep]]. About a week after, posters with imagery reminiscent of the band started appearing in multiple places around the UK and US. For an in-depth look at the days preceding the album's announcement, see the article [[2026 Promo Campaign]].

== Title and Themes ==

As a word, ''Inferno'' references hell and places reminiscent of it. It is the most explicit reference to religion and the occult since their 2002 album ''[[Geogaddi]]'' and 2000 EP ''[[In a Beautiful Place out in the Country (release)|In a Beautiful Place out in the Country]]''. The album's titles also heavily refer to concepts in cosmology and physics.

* An "[[Introit]]" is a song or psalm that is sung or recited at the beginning of a Christian mass.
* "[[Father And Son]]" could reference the Holy Trinity, which consists of the two and The Holy Spirit.
* "[[The Word Becomes Flesh]]" is a quotation from [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:14&version=NIV verse 1:14] of the Gospel of John.
* "[[Naraka]]" references the realm of hell seen in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
* "[[The Process]]" could refer to the Process Church of the Final Judgement, a new religious movement which briefly existed in the 1960s and 70s. ''The Process'' was the title of their magazine.
* "[[Prophecy At 1420 MHz]]" references the hydrogen line, a specific wavelength of radiation emitted by hydrogen as it undergoes a quantum transition. It has been used to investigate the properties of the universe, and search for extraterrestrial life.
* "[[Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan]]" refers to the first three elements of the periodic table and the mythical sea creature.
* "[[Age Of Capricorn]]" refers to the tenth sign of the astrological zodiac, and is the astrological age that follows the Age of Aquarius. The symbol of capricorn is the goat, which is symbolic in christian and pre-christian beliefs.
* "[[I Saw Through Platonia]]" could refer to a concept by Julian Barbour of a realm called Platonia, which contains every possible configuration of the universe.

== Trivia ==

* ''[[Inferno]]'' has been assigned the catalog number [https://warp.net/releases/590960-inferno/tracklist WARP496]. This seems to be a deliberate request from the band themselves, as preceding [[Warp]] releases such as Squarepusher's [https://warp.net/releases/576448-kammerkonzert/ Kammerkonzert] and Oneohtrix Point Never's [https://warp.net/releases/552598-tranquilizer/ Tranquilizer] have catalog numbers of 417 and 411, respectively.
** 496 is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_number perfect number] and a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_number hexagonal number].
** 496 also holds significance in gematria (Jewish numerology). Representing Kingdom (Malkhut / מלכות). It should be further noted that 496 is the 31st Triangle number, which holds further significance as 31 is the gematria of the word God (El / אֵל).
* The Continuous Mix version runs for exactly 70 minutes. This seems to be deliberate, as 70 has carried meaning to the band in the past. For example:
** [[Music70]] is the name of [[Mike Sandison|Mike]] and [[Marcus Eoin|Marcus]]'s own label.
** [[Sixtyten]] from [[Music Has the Right to Children|MHTRTC]] reads out as 70.
** [[The Smallest Weird Number]] from [[Geogaddi]] directly refers to 70, which is the smallest [[wikipedia:Weird number|weird number]]. Even though the track runs for 1:17, it cuts out at exactly 1:10, which is 70 seconds.
* On May 27th, 2026, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House White House] posted a promotional video for the Trump administration that featured an audio excerpt from [[Tape 05]]/[[Deep Time]] with a familiar degraded VHS tape aesthetic. They received heavy criticism from fans, with [[Warp Records|Warp]] and [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] condemning the "unauthorised use of their music for political messaging."<ref>[https://ra.co/news/85287 "The White House uses new Boards of Canada track for promo video"], Michael Lawson, Resident Advisor, 2026</ref>
* The font used in the front cover of the album resembles the one used in the title frame of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky?wprov=sfla1 Andrei Tarkovsky]’s 1979 film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_%281979_film%29?wprov=sfla1 ''Stalker''] both in color and design. The main plot of the film revolves around a pilgrimage of a kind walked by the trio of the Stalker, the Writer and the Professor. In the film, the Stalker (who guides tourists through the Zone, which he believes possesses the magical properties of wondermaking and wish fulfilment) plays a role of a mentor and/or a chaperon for the Writer (who has lost any motivation to live and work and who genuinely doesn't believe in the miraculous properties of the Zone yet wants to try making a wish there) and for the Scientist (who believes that the Zone is dangerous and wants to destroy it). The film itself is based on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkady_and_Boris_Strugatsky?wprov=sfla1 Brothers Strugatskys’] book [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic?wprov=sfla1 ''The Roadside Picnic'']. Both the book and the film take place in a post-apocalyptic world, which might be a reference to the previous Boards of Canada album [[Tomorrow's Harvest]]. Furthermore, alike to an album, both the book and the film touch upon the topic of miracles and magic that cannot be fully explained by a conventional scientific knowledge.

== Release Notes ==
All personnel credits adapted from ''[[Inferno]]'s'' liner notes.<ref name="discogs" />

* [[Mike Sandison]] – electronics, synths, tapes, programming, audio evocations, drums, percussion, guitars, bass, string instruments, processes, sound design
* [[Marcus Eoin]] – electronics, synths, tapes, processes, sound design
* [[Boards of Canada]] – recording, artwork, films, photo collage, design
* [https://www.thisismetropolis.com/engineers/matt-colton/ Matt Colton]  – mastering engineer

== See Also ==
* [[Road to Inferno]]
* [[2026 Promo Campaign]]
* [[Inferno listening parties]]
* [[Discography]]
* [[Timeline]]
* [[Statements from Hexagon Sun]]

== External Links ==
=== Press ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! publication !! article
|-
| Asatunews || [https://www.asatunews.co.id/en/boards-canada-announces-new-album Boards of Canada Announces New Album Inferno for May Release]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-inferno-stream-it-now-1236259803/ After a Prolonged Absence, Boards of Canada Fires-Up With ‘Inferno’ - Stream It Now]
|-
| Billboard || [https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/boards-of-canada-new-album-inferno-1236229593/ Boards of Canada set new album 'inferno']
|-
| Clash Magazine || [https://www.clashmusic.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Consequence Sound || [https://consequence.net/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-new-album/ Boards of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| DJ Mag || [https://djmag.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno Boards Of Canada announce new album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Igloo Magazine || [https://igloomag.com/newswire/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-warp Boards of Canada announce Inferno (Warp) — May 29, 2026]
|-
| MusicRadar || [https://www.musicradar.com/artists/boards-of-canada-dayvan-cowboy-repub “It’s like you are witnessing the fading of your own memories”: How Boards of Canada brewed a serene genre-blurring classic]
|-
| NME || [https://www.nme.com/news/music/boards-of-canada-announce-inferno-their-first-album-in-13-years-3941899 Boards Of Canada announce ‘Inferno’ – their first album in 13 years]
|-
| Opus || [https://opus.ing/p/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-titled-inferno Boards of Canada Announce New Album Titled Inferno]
|-
| Pitchfork || [https://pitchfork.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards of Canada Reveal New Album Inferno]
|-
| Resident Advisor || [https://nl.ra.co/news/85026 Boards of Canada confirm new album, Inferno]
|-
| Rockshit Magazine || [https://rockshotmagazine.com/boards-of-canada-announce-long-awaited-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Announce Long-Awaited New Album ‘Inferno’]
|-
| Stereogum || [https://stereogum.com/2496646/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/news Boards Of Canada Announce New Album Inferno]
|-
| The Line of Best Fit || [https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/boards-of-canada-reveal-details-of-inferno-first-new-album-in-13-years Boards of Canada reveal details of Inferno, first new album in 13 years]
|-
| The Quietus || [https://thequietus.com/news/boards-of-canada-announce-new-album-inferno/ Boards Of Canada Detail New Album, ‘Inferno’]
|-
| We Rave You || [https://weraveyou.com/2026/04/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-2026/ Boards of Canada announce new album ‘Inferno’ after 13-year break]
|}

=== Reviews ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! score !! favorable !! publication !! foreign !! lang !! writer !! link !! paywall !! notes
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Written In Music || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen van der Vring || [https://writteninmusic.com/albumrecensie/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || The Herald || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Barry Didcock || [https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/26119902.indepth-review-boards-canada-inferno-five-star-return/ review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || musicOMH || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Steven Johnson || [https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔐 || ★★★★★
|-
| 10 || 🟢 || Europe Says || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || n/a || [https://www.europesays.com/canada/57411/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★★
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Uncut || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michael Bonner || [https://bsky.app/profile/uncutmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mmbyeuto722l review] || 🔐 || album of the month
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Clash || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walker-Smart || [https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Sound of Violence || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Franck Narquin || [https://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/album/6413/boards_of_canada_inferno.html review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || File Under Fire || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Matt Young || [https://fileunderfire.com/album-reviews/is-boards-of-canadas-inferno-the-soundtrack-of-the-end-times-we-deserve/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Beats Per Minute || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Todd Deman || [https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || 90%
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Under The Radar || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tobias Furlong || [https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/inferno_boards_of_canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Northern Transmissions || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Erin Macleod || [https://northerntransmissions.com/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Dansende Beren || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Tom Verhavert || [https://www.dansendeberen.be/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-inferno-nostalgische-soundtrack-van-vergeten-herinneringen/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★½
|-
| 9 || 🟢 || Gos Is In The TV || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2026/06/02/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8,6 || 🟢 || Pitchfork || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Philip Sherburne || [https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔐 || best new music
|-
| 8,5 || 🟢 || Boolin Tunes || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Dobbin T || [https://boolintunes.com/reviews/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Stereo Board || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jack Butler-Terry || [https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/251813/9 review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || RollingStone || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Michaelangelo Matos || [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-1235571024/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Paste Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Grant Sharples || [https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/joanna-newsom/may-27-is-now-joanna-newsom-day review] || 🔓 || B
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Scotsman || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Fiona Shepherd || [https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/music/album-reviews-boards-of-canada-inferno-the-coral-radhika-autoleisureland-8636190 review] || 🔐 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || The Skinny || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Lewis Wade || [https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Mojo || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Andrew Male || [https://www.mojo4music.com/reviews/new-music/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-enigmatic-duo-turn-their-focus-to-the-present/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆
|-
| 8 || 🟢 || Exclaim || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Daryl Keating || [https://exclaim.ca/music/rarticle/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Far Out Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tom Phelan || [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| 7 || 🟢 || Our Culture || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Konstantinos Pappis || [https://ourculturemag.com/2026/05/28/album-review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★½☆
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Manc Union || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Noah Mckie || [https://mancunion.com/2026/06/08/boards-of-canada-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Big Takeover Magazine || 🏠 || US || James Broscheid || [https://bigtakeover.com/recordings/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp-records/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Triangle || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Tegan Doherty || [https://www.thetriangle.org/article/electronic-duo-boards-of-canada-reemerge-with-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Les Inrocks || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || François Moreau || [https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/inferno-comment-mettre-des-mots-sur-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-697028-05-06-2026/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Is This Music? || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ed Jupp || [https://www.isthismusic.com/boards-of-canada] review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/achtergronden/boards-of-canada-verkiest-de-schaduw-boven-de-schijnwerpers/ deep dive] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || No More Workhorse || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Killian Laher || [https://nomoreworkhorse.com/2026/06/03/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Echoes And Dust || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Geoff Topley || [https://echoesanddust.com/2026/06/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Igloo Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Kent Williams || [https://igloomag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno-warp review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Treble || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Blyweiss || [https://www.treblezine.com/boards-of-canada-inferno-review/ review] || 🔓 || album of the week
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Anxious Musick Magazine || 🌍 || 🇵🇱 || Karol Mazurek || [https://anxiousmagazine.pl/recenzje/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Chaos Reign || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Romain Le Vern || [https://www.chaosreign.fr/inferno-le-nouvel-album-de-boards-of-canada-critique-review-avis-une-merveille-crepusculaire/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Nieuwste Hits || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jeroen Seegers || [https://nieuwstehits.nl/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Quietus || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sereptie || [https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || DJ Mag || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Cardew || [https://djmag.com/reviews/boards-of-canada-inferno review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Wall Street Journal || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Mark Richardson || [https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/inferno-by-boards-of-canada-review-bleak-and-beautiful-167e6e07 review] || 🔐 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Resident Advisor || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sasha Geffen || [https://de.ra.co/reviews/36354 review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Attack Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Adam Douglas || [https://www.attackmagazine.com/features/columns/what-happened-at-boards-of-canadas-inferno-tokyo-listening-session/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Juno Daily || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Charlie Wright || [https://www.juno.co.uk/junodaily/2026/05/23/boards-of-canadas-inferno-album-first-listen-review/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || OOR || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Koen Poolman || [https://oor.nl/albums/inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || taz.on weekend || 🌍 || 🇩🇪 || Julian Weber || [https://taz.de/!6177981/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || The Pop Corporation || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || ? || [https://thepopcorps.co.uk/2026/05/25/review-boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Sustratro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Miguel Pardo || [https://www.sustrato.io/textos/mantras-para-un-mundo-en-llamas-reflexiones-en-torno-a-inferno-de-boards-of-canada review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟢 || Dagens Nyheter || 🌍 || 🇸🇪 || Mattias Dahlström || [https://www.dn.se/kultur/boards-of-canadas-comeback-var-vard-all-vantan/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| n/a || 🟡 || Loud And Quiet || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Sam Walton || [https://loudandquiet.substack.com/p/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6,6 || 🟡 || Magic || 🌍 || 🇫🇷 || Wilfried Paris || [https://www.magicrpm.com/inferno-de-boards-of-canada-enfer-et-damna-son/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Slant Magazine || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Jackson Diianni || [https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/boards-of-canada-inferno-album-review/ review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || The Needle Drop || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Anthony Fantano || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WFptvdd1Dw review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || NRC || 🌍 || 🇳🇱 || Jonasz Dekkers || [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/05/29/boards-of-canada-is-eindelijk-terug-bleachers-gooit-alle-registers-open-en-jan-vriend-heeft-een-nieuwe-voltreffer-a4928823?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=clipboard&utm_campaign=share&utm_term=share-modal&gift_token=49288233~1780762052~t53zRDOtRtCzEct0DTNzGw~ne8S1d9iDEQYNOwTgGgpXKP3-Or7TcOCOSqq5FV6Ihs review] || 🔓 || ★★★☆☆
|-
| 6 || 🟡 || Mondo Sonoro || 🌍 || 🇪🇸 || Lluís S. Ceprián || [https://www.mondosonoro.com/criticas/discos-musica/boards-of-canada-inferno/ review] || 🔓 ||
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || Financial Times || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ludovic Hunter-Tilney || [https://www.ft.com/content/af214775-519b-4c94-8db7-6b5207cc70bd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 review] || 🔐 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Guardian || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ben Beaumont-Thomas || [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/23/boards-of-canada-inferno-review-after-13-years-away-their-prodigal-return-is-a-big-disappointment review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|-
| 4 || 🔴 || The Arts Desk || 🏠 || 🇬🇧 || Ibi Keita || [https://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/boards-canada-channel-dante-inferno-seem-even-more-lost review] || 🔓 || ★★☆☆☆
|}

=== Shops ===
* [https://bleep.com/boards-of-canada-inferno Bleep]
* [https://www.hhv.de/en/records/item/boards-of-canada-inferno-1392710 HHV]
* [https://www.crashrecords.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno-pre-order Crash Records]
* [https://www.jumborecords.co.uk/music-single.asp?product_id=WARPCD496 Jumbo Records]
* [https://www.normanrecords.com/records/215515-boards-of-canada-inferno Norman Records]
* [https://www.roughtrade.com/product/boards-of-canada/inferno-4 Rough Trade]
* [https://thevaultcollectiveltd.co.uk/products/boards-of-canada-inferno The Vault Collective ltd]

=== Various ===
* [https://cutt.ly/inferno-survey-results bocpages: Inferno Survey Results]
* [https://forum.keyosc.com/topic/1980-inferno-may-29-2026/ Keyosc discussion: "Inferno" May 29 2026]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15631 Twoism discussion: General New Release Speculation Topic Part II]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16008 Twoism discussion: LP5 - Inferno]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16027 Twoism discussion: Inferno Sessions]
* [https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16126 Twoism discussion: Inferno Reviews]

== References ==
<references />

== Artwork ==
The listing below is generated dynamically, based on: [[:Category: Inferno artwork]].

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{{Nav-Releases}}

[[Category: Inferno]]

Equipment

2025-08-14T18:00:57Z

PhasedSpaces: Added video link to the AN1x re-creating Boqurant + 5.9.78

There has been much debate on what equipment [[Boards of Canada]] uses to get their unique sound. Due to their [[Interviews|reclusive nature]] and lack of [[Gigs|touring]], not much is known for certain, but there is much speculation.

== Secret weapon ==
[[Boards of Canada|BoC]] themselves have, in multiple [[interviews]], mentioned the use of a "secret weapon" they use to generate their unique sound. As the name implied, they have declined to provide any specific information on what this "weapon" might be, but most expect it to be some sort of old analog synth.

<blockquote>"If I told you what the secret weapon is, it wouldn't be a secret anymore. We have more than one really. We use a mixture of old and new equipment. We don't have lots of synths, we use hi-fi gear and other tricks to achieve our sound."<ref>[[A Bunker Full of Memories]] (Forcefield, 1998)</ref></blockquote>

Many believe the [[wikipedia:Yamaha_CS-80|Yamaha CS-80]] to be this weapon. In the [[WATMM]] thread "[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=1503 ATTN BoC-sessives, CS-80 on eBay]", however, jbible refutes this, saying:

<blockquote>"The synth used by [[BoC]] often mistaken for a [[wikipedia:Yamaha_CS-80|CS80]] is a [[wikipedia:Crumar|Crumar]] with a [[BoC]] emblem covering the name of the synth on the back."</blockquote>

Since jbible has seen [[Boards of Canada|BoC]] live (and is the source of the [[Live @ ATP]] bootleg), his comments hold some weight.

Here is a detailed "[http://synthmuseum.com/yamaha/yamcs8001.html write-up]" of the [[wikipedia:Yamaha_CS-80|CS-80]], courtesy of the [https://www.synthmuseum.com SynthMuseum].

== Synthesizers ==
===CS-70M===
In the original album description provided by [[Boards of Canada]]'s label ([[Warp Records]]) the [https://www.vintagesynth.com/yamaha/cs-70m Yamaha CS-70M] is mentioned as their "trademark" synth.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130825145615/https://bleep.com/release/43515-boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest</ref>

===SH-101===
It appears that [[BoC]] use the [[wikipedia:Roland_SH-101|SH-101]] extensively. It possible that it is their only [[wikipedia:Category:Monophonic_synthesizers|mono-synth]].

It's hard to prove this definitively and the tone of the sounds are nearly always altered in the mix making a perfect copy of any particular sound extremely difficult.

However, having used this synth extensively in my opinion there's almost no mono-synth sound on [[BoC]]'s records that couldn't have come from the [[wikipedia:Roland_SH-101|101]].

In this link I show how to make the "[[Roygbiv]]" bassline on a [[wikipedia:Roland_SH-101|101]] (actually a 202 but the sound generation circuitry is identical).<ref>[http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=10258&st=0&p=223082&#entry223082</ref>

===CS1x===
A blue [[wikipedia:Yamaha_CS1x|Yamaha CS-1x]] was mistakenly visible in a [[Live @ ATP|1999 Lighthouse Party]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boards_of_Canada_Warp_Lighthouse_Party_1999.jpg photograph]. Members on [[Twoism (messageboard)|twoism.org]] and [[WATMM|watmm.com]] later recognised the blue synth as the [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|Yamaha AN1x]] ([[Equipment#AN1x|see below]]).

===AN1x===
The [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|Yamaha AN1x]] has been recognised as being the blue keyboard in question. [[Twoism (messageboard)|twoism.org]] have a thread on this, where some members have analysed the photograph, and by altering contrast etc, have stated that certain ports that only the [[wikipedia:Yamaha_CS1x|CS-1x]] has, are 'missing' from the back panel, thus strongly suggesting that the synth in question is indeed an [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|AN1x]]. Interestingly, in recent years, numerous examples of [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|AN1x]] programming to emulate/re-create [[BoC]] sounds have surfaced, demonstrating remarkable closeness to [[BoC]], thus furthering the potential that the blue synth is in fact an [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|AN1x]]. Note that [[BoC]] only used the [[wikipedia:Yamaha_AN1x|AN1x]] to trigger live samples.<ref>http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9092&hilit=AN1x</ref>

{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0PCmypJmt3M}}

===CZ-101===
A [[wikipedia:Casio_CZ_synthesizers#CZ-101|Casio CZ-101]] can be seen on one picture of their live performance, positioned on the drum stands in front of [[Michael Sandison]]. The [[wikipedia:Casio_CZ_synthesizers#CZ-101|Casio CZ-101]] is visibly linked to other equipment solely through a MIDI cable, indicating its probable role as a MIDI keyboard within this live setup. Strikingly, the synth's audio output remains unutilized during the performance.

{{#widget:YouTube|id= egQmqtI8N3M}}

Identification of the synthesizer is possible thanks to its distinctive side profile, featuring two audio jacks, a DC jack, and a guitar strap peg. The Casio logo is concealed beneath tape.

===Ensoniq VFX/VFX-SD/SD-1===
One of the models out of this lineup of [[wikipedia:Ensoniq|Ensoniq]] synths have been used in a handful of [[Discography#Rare.2FEarly_Releases|Old Tunes]] tracks, from "[[R35TT_A14|A14]]"<ref>https://soundcloud.com/user-173148214/a14-ocarina-wave-sample/s-BBbPKhjdZR4</ref> stretching all the way to "[[Everything You Do Is A Balloon]]", mainly for its pad and string programs built-in on its internal ROM.

Using the "patch selection" feature, multiple sounds from different tracks have been found to derive from different selections from the "SAW-O-LIFE" program.<ref>https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15630</ref>

{{#widget:YouTube|id= 0RIwbFh8n4M}}
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== Native Instruments ==
In a 2001(?) interview with [https://www.discogs.com/artist/6214-Mate-Galic Mate Galic] of [[wikipedia:Native Instruments|Native Instruments]], [[Boards of Canada]] is listed as one of the artists using NI products (but not details on which ones).<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20011219173856/http://www.cakewalknet.com/articlesnieng.htm</ref>

== Tape decks ==
=== Grundig ===
==== Unknown tape deck ====
<blockquote>"We love these low-quality tape machines," [[Eoin]] says. "The great thing with machines such as the [[wikipedia: Grundig|Grundig]] is that it's tragically bad. Whatever you record into it just doesn't come out unscathed. There's a 'magic eye' valve display on it, and when you hit the tape deck with the right volume, enough to fill out the magic eye, it's at that exact sweet spot that it is saturating the tape. So if you then sample back the playback, it's got a thousand years' grain on it."<ref name="emotional abuse">[[Emotional_Abuse]] (Remix, 2005)</ref></blockquote>

* Possible models:
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk1_e.htm TK 1 Luxus]
** [http://www.rolaa.de/sehensw/radio/tonband/tape1/tape1/tk5_e.htm TK 5]

* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1409390 "Magic eye" article at Everything2]
* [http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/y_kondo/MAGICEYE2.HTM Gallery of Magic Eyes]

=== Tascam ===
==== Unknown 4-track ====
<blockquote>"We drop a lot of our music down onto a [[wikipedia:TASCAM|Tascam]] 4-track that has a great saturating effect on the sound."<ref name="northern exposure">[[Northern Exposure]] (Remix, 2002)</ref></blockquote>

==== MSR-16 ====
<blockquote>"Whether they're working separately or together, getting ideas down is generally a result of recording extended jams to tape on anything from a [https://hifi-wiki.com/index.php/Tascam_MSR-16 Tascam MSR-16] reel-to-reel to an old [[wikipedia:Revox |Revox]] recorder to a [[wikipedia:Grundig|Grundig]] machine to an ordinary cassette."<ref name="emotional abuse">[[Emotional_Abuse]] (Remix, 2005)</ref></blockquote>

* [http://www.tascam.com/Company.html#1988 TASCAM Company History]
* [http://www.audioscope.net/images/tascammsr16.jpg Image]

== Mixers ==
Based on the photos from [[Live @ Warp10|Warp10]], the [[Live @ Lighthouse|Lighthouse]], and [[Live @ ATP|ATP]], the mixer [[BoC]] used was the [https://www.soundcraft.com/en/products/spirit-folio-sx Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX]. Since [[BoC]] ran everything through this live, they were running their samplers/synths through these Folio pre's, meaning that a noticeable part of [[BoC]]'s sound is from this mixer. Assuming they used the Folio when recording the ''[[Peel Session]]'', and given the quality of those songs and the soundboard quality of "[[Julie And Candy]]", it's safe to assume that [[BoC]] never really owned any high-end rackmount preamps (Neve 1073's, LA 610's, API 512c, etc.).

They most likely ran a few rackmount effects into the aux channels of the Folio, probably to get their phaser/reverb sounds, but so far none of those units have been deduced from available photos.

== Samplers ==
===Yamaha===
==== A3000 ====
The rear of an [https://www.vintagesynth.com/yamaha/a3000 Yamaha A3000] can be seen in this live photograph:

[[Image:BOC-live-12.jpg|220px]]

=== Akai ===
==== S1000 ====
<blockquote>"We have five or six samplers, but my favorite by far is still the Akai S1000. It's an old tank now, and the screen has faded so that I almost can't read it, but I know it inside out. It's the most spontaneous thing for making up little tunes. It adds something to the sound — maybe the lower bit depth has something to do with that."<ref name="northern exposure">[[Northern Exposure]] (Remix, 2002)</ref></blockquote>

* [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s1000.shtml Vintage Synth Explorer]
* [http://www.synthmuseum.com/akai/akas100001.jpg Image]

==== S3200 ====
The rear of an [http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s3000.php Akai S3200] can be seen in these live photographs:

[[Image:BOC-live-12.jpg|220px]]
[[Image:BOC-live-04.jpg|220px]]

==Percussion==
<blockquote>[[Michael Sandison]]: "As for our percussion, it's never just a drum machine or a sample, we put a lot of real live drumming or percussion in there, woven into the rhythm tracks, and it brings a bit of chaos into the sound that you just can't achieve any other way".<ref>[[We%27ve_Become_a_Lot_More_Nihilistic_over_the_Years|We've Become a Lot More Nihilistic over the Years]] (The Guardian, 2013)</ref></blockquote>

== External Links ==
* [https://larslentzaudio.wordpress.com/2022/07/20/deconstructing-the-boards-of-canada-BoC-sound-and-music/ Deconstructing the Boards of Canada (BoC) Sound and Music]
* [https://flypaper.soundfly.com/produce/emulating-boards-of-canadas-classic-synth-sound-without-breaking-your-bank-or-brain/ Emulating Boards of Canada’s Classic Synth Sound Without Breaking Your Bank or Brain]

== References ==
<references/>

The SAY Award

2021-04-07T12:59:15Z

PhasedSpaces: /* Ceremony */

__TOC__
== Introduction ==
The Scottish Album of the Year Award, or [http://www.sayaward.com/ SAY Award] is a yearly prize given to an album produced by Scottish musicians between January and December of the previous year.<ref>http://www.sayaward.com/about/</ref> In 2014, [[Boards of Canada]] were nominated for their 2013 release [[Tomorrow's Harvest]]. <ref>http://www.sayaward.com/boards-of-canada-tomorrows-harvest/</ref> The album made it to the shortlist, thus winning the band a £1,000 prize and an invitation to take part in the awards ceremony where the overall winner would be named.

== Ceremony ==
Although [[Boards of Canada|Mike and Marcus]] were not available to attend the ceremony, they prepared an exclusive thank you video and track for the audience members in attendance. The one minute video, displayed in a hexagon, comprised fast moving images accompanied with a snippet of new arpeggio-styled music.

Someone in the audience managed to capture this moment and uploaded it to YouTube where it got removed hours later. It has since been mirrored [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjXmTSOujrE on YouTube] by [https://www.youtube.com/user/xoio/videos PhasedSpaces] and [http://we.tl/SxU6roLUED for download] by [http://www.twoism.org/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2204 thepastinsidepresent] from the [[Twoism (forum)|Twoism forum]].

[http://www.twoism.org/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3215 Anecdote], also from the [[Twoism (forum)|Twoism forum]] provides us an [[The SAY Award#Audio|audio]] snippet, ripped from the removed YouTube clip. <ref>http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=235419#235419</ref>

The message was cut from the internet live stream of the event and the video displayed a "Please Stand By" message. You can see an excerpt of the live show below in the [[The SAY Award#Video|Video]] section or the full version of the stream at [http://new.livestream.com/accounts/6022064/events/3114082 Livestream] - the [[BoC]] part starts at approximately 1h41min.

== References ==
<references />

== Audio ==
[[File:The-SAY-award-thank-you-speech.mp3]]
 
The track contains some noise which is not decipherable on the smartphone recording that was taken. It then moves to an arpeggio very much in the style of [[Tomorrow's Harvest]] with a palindromic structure. It is very similar to the arpeggio in [[Gemini]] in reverse, but not identical (it is in a Dorian mode rather than a minor key.)

== Video ==
* The first video is a meta video recording of the internet live stream which contains (deliberate?) technical issues.
* The second video shows what the audience in fact witnessed at the event itself while the audio/video had a cutout in the live stream.

{{#widget:YouTube|id=Y83s3fp8Qow|width=380px}} {{#widget:YouTube|id=yjXmTSOujrE|width=380px}}

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